Day 11 in Mazatlan - Thursday 29 Jan - early risings, markets, art galleries, buses and more.

woke early and watched downtown abbey

 Then we caught a new bus to go downtown. How exciting and there was a detour too so Diane saw new things too. We went to the bead shops first and then two blocks up from the market and to the cathedral.
With directions on how to get to the Machado square (two blocks over and three blocks up from the cathedral) (or was it three blocks over and four blocks up?) We headed off in unfamiliar territory. We did in fact find the square with only one stop to ask a tall good looking gentleman directions. He was very helpful.

Before we came to Mach ado square we saw several interesting old buildings in ruins although some of them were in worse shape than others.  may have been lovely once apon a time but no more, or maybe just lovely in a different sort of uninhabitable sort of way.
Once we got to the square and got our bearings we headed off to find Sixto Osuana street and the art gallery across the street from theefore we came to Mach ado square we saw several interesting old buildings in ruins although some of them were in worse shape than others.  may have been lovely once apon a time but no more, or maybe just lovely in a different sort of uninhabitable sort of way.

We passed several walls and or doors that were painted wonderfully. an art walk on our way to the art gallery. it was getting hot and so we were trying to stay in the shade even though I had my hat on and sunscreen I still try to stay in the shade as much as possible.

We passed several interesting restaurants as well including the one we had brunch at earlier in the week.
We stopped in at one, the Allegro..... for eggs Benedict .... heard they were the best in town and they were, in fact, very good.
Francis our waiter spoke english very well and was very friendly giving us lots of information about the owners who did not live  above the restaurant..  after a very filling and tasty eggs benedict (next time I will order one half size or split it with someone) we waddled out to find the art gallery.

On our way we came across a few private galleries which of course we went into and I found some more postcards and bookmarks and ceramic pendants for necklaces. A dragon belt buckle was a find that i paid 12 pesos for.  I don't think I will ever wear it but it is cool and maybe I will have it mounted into a frame and hum]ng on the wall.
we then went and found the art gallery which was very interesting though small.

There was only one salon open with about 30 paintings in it by two artists and although they were very good and interesting, I was expecting something a little bigger. but there was a gift shop where I found some post cards for Mary and John of fish from the aquarium. Funny I didn't see any of these postcards at the aquarium.

After the gallery I wanted to see if we could find the church with the wonderful spire that we had seen on our walk to the lighthouse. It was very tall and we could see the boatyards and docks behind it. kind of a yellow cross of adobe.

 Francis at the restaurant had asked some of the other waiters and waitresses and found out that it was called the Maria del Mar.
Mary of the Sea.
Lovely.
 So intrepid explorers that we were, we headed off into unknown territory with a map provided by the friend of francs, I guess then we actually did kind of have directions but we were still intrepid.

New streets with new treats. Old beside new, colour upon colour. grillwork windows,  walls painted like a jungle, sidewalks of a variety of heights and sizes all on one block. Newer renovations beside really, really old buildings. So exciting and all so quiet, not hardly any traffic so we thought maybe everyone was at work or just quiet in their homes. If we walked through a residential neighbourhood in the afternoon back home I am sure it would be very quiet too.

We followed our map and found our way to a very busy street. after navigating it safely continued on and asked a street vendor where the church was. My pronuciation of Maria del mar must have been pretty bad but he finally figured out what we wanted and pointed down the street holding up three of his fingers which I interpreted to mean three blocks.

We passed yards with flowers in bloom and lions guarding the gates, grillwork, grillwork, grillwork every where. Back home it is very expensive to have wrought iron so I am surprised to see it everywhere here.
We continued on the road and finally saw the steeple. Not too much further now. By that time we were almost at the docks I am sure.

yes we did finally arrive at the church of Maria del Mar. a circular church, divided in half with half being the church proper and the other half being for meeting rooms and such. there was a school next door so assumed that it would be the catholic school. It was a very nice church with mosaic pictures all around the side buildings of the church and as we walked up to the church door a young gentleman came out of a side building unlocked the front door and let us in. It was nice and cool inside with descending steps to the altar and a statue of Mary on one side. I said some hail Mary's for Shauna and Bill and lit a candle. (an electric candle but it is the thought that counts). Walked around there for a bit  more. One window looked a sitting buddah, nice I wonder if they know it.

We headed back and it was getting very hot out now . I did bring a hat but we tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. We kind of, almost, got lost coming back into downtown but a nice gentleman showed us which road (Carnival ) to take back to Machado. He was going that way to pick up his car so it was no inconvenience.

Carnival street has a blue line  painted down the middle of the road and would take us right to Machada square. Wonderful. so many nice people out there.  It seems they painted the line on the road for the tourists from the cruise ships so they could get back to their ships.
1t was a nice walk.

 Machado Square was a very welcoming site with lots of folks sitting and lunching and having coffee. We tried to get into the Peralto theatre but they had a show that evening so we could not sneak a peek. sad . Walked around the square and decided to catch a bus home from the market. Walked down to the market passing the cathedral again.
What a fun full day.

We got home got changed and headed for the Inn at Mazatlan and got a lovely cool mango juice - straight. Yes just mango juice, need something healthy too. A nice dip in the pool to cool off and sip mango juice under the coconut trees. What a life. We are truly blessed. Chatted about the day and what we were going to do for tomorrow. Popcorn and pigeons. What a routine.

Then we went for a wander of a walk down the beach towards downtown and it turned out that we could could not get around the point as the tide was coming in so we had to come back in the dark on a beach that was getting narrower and narrower with the tide coming in. We passed one hotel on the beach that is closed still due to the hurricane that ripped through Mazatlan last fall. When we were just passing it two big dogs came running out barking and growling at us, quite large dogs, a little unnerving. They were confined to the hotel area but still made me uneasy until we were well past.
Found our way back to the road and headed home for a light supper, watched a bit of Downtown Abbey, uploaded, downloaded edited and went to bed. happy healthy and rich with the Mazatlan memories of today.

Day Ten in Mazatlan - Wednesday 28 Jan - Markets, necklaces and sunsets

Didn’t fall asleep until almost one waiting for downtown abbey to download and then watching it. Will have to download the next episode too but not tonight. Woke up around 645 and headed off to the beach to make the Inukshuk and the labyrinth. Another beautiful day in Mazatlan. 
The previous days labyrinth had been washed away by the tide which was to be expected and so not upsetting at all.The mexican workers said good morning and let me take their picture. I set to work and after the assembling of the inukshuk  and the labyrinth was completeded went back to the house via the residential streets enjoying all the flowers. I love all the flowers.
Back at the house we met Phyllis and Debbie who is Phyllis’s upstairs neighbour. She is going to the organic market in Centro and is going to take us. First we all went to the chicken store just up the street from the church. I picked up some candy to take home and Phyllis got some chicken broth. 

After dropping off our purchases we headed off for downtown. Phyllis has been coming to Mexico for so long that she drives like a Mexican so we just held onto our hats and enjoyed the ride. Really, no, she was a very good driver. She navigated those streets like a pro, parked I don't know where as I was to ally lost, and we all went in search of the store. 

Walked to the Machado plaza with its central gazebo, new carnival statue and fresh plantings. A very nice square with shops and restaurants all around. Our organic veggie store was down the street from  the square in a mall like building where you have to walk through a restaurant to get to the store.  We did and stocked up on raspberries, bagels, tomatoes, fresh basil, bread, and more. 

The Mexicans that we have met are all so nice. The young girl in the bakery was fond of saying 'okeeydokey' which made me laugh as it was unexpected. I am not sure what one might expect to hear in a bakery in Mazatlan but okeedokey was not one of them for sure. With our shopping accomplished we decided to go for a quick bite of lunch so back to the square and  what did we all enjoy seeing but an old mexican woman being given a ride by a street vendor. and she smiled and waved as she went by like she was the queen. so cute.

From the square up past the cathedral and down a different street  with very tall curbs. I have heard the the curbs are very high but some of them are three feet high. Navigated a few busy corners with Debbie telling us about this restaurant and that restaurant and who had the best eggs benedict in the city. 
Then to another street which was the Sixto Osuna Street. We knew this street. The Museum Archeologica was on this street, so we felt quite at home although the museum was, I believe, several more blocks down the road. 

We came to the restaurant and ordered salads and juices. Chatted about our food sources, GMO and the evil monsanto corporation. Michael and Phyllis are very well travelled, Diane is well rounded and grounded and Debbie has strong opinions so our conversation was lively and interesting. 
We headed back to the van and got back to the house around one. 

While we waited for the internet guy, we had a lovely quiet afternoon making necklaces. Well, I had a lovely afternoon making necklaces as Diane couldn’t get them to go the way she wanted and so she did other things. She went to get pasta and when she had come back and had made the pasta sauce discovered we were out of red wine so went and got the red wine too. I made three necklaces which both Linda and Diane said were lovely and I agree.  Not bad for my first (well maybe second) attempt at creative jewelry making

After supper Diane and I headed down to the beach to get some sunset shots as I had not thus far been to the beach in the evening. the tide does come right up to the hotels at night but before that happened I did get some very nice sunset shots. 
We wandered down the beach only to discover that with the tide coming in we could not get off the beach down there so had to come back up the beach to the access road we had come in on. 

Went for a leisurely stroll down the rich avenue (don't know what it is called) window shopping and chatting about retirement and money. There was a band playing so we stopped to listen to good old rock and roll for a bit and then headed home. It was around eight when we got home and we were both so tired we just went to bed. O course I uploaded photos to face book first and a few videos but was fast asleep within minutes of finishing that.

Day nine in Mazatlan - Tuesday 27 jan - labyrinths - shopping, casinos, music and pasta night

Woke up at 530  and decided to get dressed and go to the beach but it was very dark out so waited until a little after sunrise to go. To fill the time worked on the blog , had some spanish omlete for breakfast and then headed out around 7. The buses are running at that time and there were a very few people out to catch those buses on their way to work. 

The beach was deserted and it was beautiful. the warm breeze off of the ocean, the gently breaking waves and the few birds that were out made me feel very on holiday. I walked down the beach to find the right spot for the labyrinth. There is one place between hotels where, during the day, there are workmen constructing a seawall of some sort and so decided as it was a good spot that interfered the least with the hotels. It was the Right spot.

I started with half of the inner circle, then half of the next and so on for four lines of rocks in the sand. A few people were walking by and making comments of encouragement, mostly, as it was still very unidentifiable, wondering what I was so industriously building. 

The Men working on the building started to show up for work and were watching my creation expand. Around 7:50 two of them came down and asked what I was doing. I showed them the picture of the labyrinth and they still had a few minutes before work and so helped me gather rocks to complete it. Very nice of them. Antonio? and …..? They had gone to english school so liked to practise their english.  They went to work at 8 and I continued it to completion. When it was finished one gentleman walked by and asked if it was an inukshuk. An inukshuk? Obviously not Canadian. 

Another gentleman came by and asked if I was going to put the rocks back, because if I left them people would have to be walking all over the rocks. I thought he was kidding but he was not. Old grump. I got the rocks from the beach. Where did he think I got them from? Anyway had a great time and beat the sunshine as the shadow of the hotel was was getting smaller and closer to me with each passing minute. Walked back down the beach and saw an egret, lovely.

On the way home saw a rose that smelled sweet. A rose in January! lots of flowers. Diane was up when I got home, and wants to go down to see the inukshuk. LOL. 

We left around 10 to go to the mall, the casino and the mega market via the 'Inukshuk". There were a few more people on the beach now and the labyrinth looked great and there were people walking it! how exciting. I need to build a labyrinth in my garden back home. Diane and I walked it and enjoyed the moment of satisfaction when one gets to the centre and faces the sea. What fun.

On our way back to catch the bus to go shopping we met Peter who tried his best to get us to go parasaiing. We declined the offer of really cheap and although I am planning on doing this on the last day of my trip in Mazatlan ( I didnt tell Peter that) we walked on.

Caught the bus and downtown we went. Through the mall once again and to the bead store where  bought lots of things to make necklaces and bracelets. they had a display of  some of the gowns that the queens of the Carnaval wear on the floats.  Stunning headdresses with intricate beading , sequins and bright colours, and each one must weigh a ton too and be soooooo hot to wear. We had an ice-cream cone on our way to the casino through the mall so we   didn't need to go outside which I am sure in the summer is a great relief to folks. 

I got my first and only casino card. Loaded it up with 100 pesos (ten dollars) and proceeded to lose and win back again 188 pesos so I gained 8 dollars!  the trick according to Diane is to find the machine that likes you and that you like . All those bells and whistles and pretty lights. I cashed out and found that Diane who had been playing the whole time on one machine had won over 200 pesos, twenty bucks! I told her she was buying dinner that evening. 





We headed off to the Mega, like our superstore and picked up a few things. I found artichokes and soya sauce and listerine. I have caught the dreaded cough cold that everybody I know seems to have caught. Sad but I would rather be sick here than in Edmonton. 

We caught a pulmonia back to the house which was nice and  headed off to the El cid which is a hotel at the end end of our beach. they were having music today so we wanted to go and see what was what.  We caught the bus and some friendly expats helped us get off to the right stop for El cid. A short walk down an access road and we could hear the music. The place was packed but as it backed out onto the beach we went there and sat on some rocks and did not have to pay the cover charge. of course we also did not get any drinks but that was ok . while listening to some good old rock and roll we met Elizabeth from Winnipeg who had walked the labyrinth that morning and was quite excited to meet its maker. She had come down on a one week holiday and decided to stay so she found a place to room with a family and was staying a month.

It was very windy that afternoon and the windsurfers were out doing their thing which is hanging onto a kite or sail and surfing the waves. I do not know why they just don't blow up onto the bleach when it is so windy but they don't.  They were out there the whole time we were listening to the band. very pleasant to watch.

 We wandered back down the beach leaving Elizabeth to the music and  I took some more photos. surprising I know. We saw a small dead porcupine fish washed up on the beach and  I thought what if you were swimming and stepped on or fell into the water onto of that. Not very pleasant and we were sad to see him as the ones we saw at the aquarium were so cute.

A young couple was making valentines in the sand and as I took a picture of them a friend of theirs came running out of the water saying take a picture of him too, so I did  and then his friends wanted to get their photos taken ....so we did .....selfies. 

 Do not know who they were or what their names are but maybe some day someone will recognize them and  they can see their photo  on my face book page and this blog and remember that my arms were not long enough to get everyone in the photo. 

When we got home we immediately got ready for our dinner out with Phyllis and Michael and their friends, Sandra and David. Diane and I went to the restaurant around the corner at 6 and had part of a beer served by our waiter who wants to fish for salmon in bc, before the others arrived. We had sat outside but moved indoors as Michael is older and doesn’t like the breezy chill of the evening. It was lovely both places. Had a delightful 2 for 1 dinner of fettucine alfredo and another beer served by a different waiter who had a family and was very friendly.
We were all done by 830 and headed home which  as a I said before, being right around the corner, was not far. I did not fall asleep right away, too much alcohol and so uploaded photos to Facebook and then downloaded an episode of downton abbey and watched that before I finally fell asleep around one am.

Day Eight in Mazatlan - Monday 26 jan - Washday , bookstores, souvenirs and mango daquiris

a quiet washday in mazatlan with hoses and buckets and old washing machines. took us all morning to do two loads but then we were done and we had clean clothes hanging out to dry. We also swept out the pool of the debris that had fallen in since the last time it had been swept. 

After lunch we headed out to the bookstore and the happy hour at the Mazatlan Inn. from 4-5 it is two for one. Daquiris today Mango. very yummy and good for us too.

Day Seven in Mazatlan - Sunday 25 Jan -Dolphins, Divers, Museums and light houses

Today it is trying to rain. Linda told me about the spider she was watching building his web in the tree in the backyard and catching flys'and bugs, the spider was not Linda.

Diane and I headed off after breakfast to see the Museum Archeologica in Centro Historico Mazatlan.

Caught the Centro bus and got off before it turned to go downtown at the fisherman's beach.  We decided that we would follow the coast to the museum as on the map it looked very close to the beach and going through downtown seemed like it would b very confusing and we didn't want to get lost. Of course we found out later that it is way easier and shorter to go through downtown than along the sea walk  but we enjoyed the walk very much and saw so many new beautiful, fun and exciting things.

At the fisherman's beach there were the little shacks selling fresh coconuts and oysters along the walkway. We passed several fishermen bringing their catches in from their boats and one boat just being brought up on the beach using small logs as rollers. I finally got to see the brown pelicans up close as they were all over the beach.

We continued down the Olas Atlas Road along the coast. Lovely, all new territory for both of us to discover. One of those carnival statues that are at least twenty feet tall depicting a merman. Wayne had told us that they were installing some new statues at the far end of the malecon for the carnival happening in a few weeks so these must be them.
the hill that we walked around was the hill with all the antenna towers on it and was much bigger in circumference than it first appeared. We enjoyed the seawall cliffs and little beaches with either rocks or course sand. 

There were a few houses and buildings that might have been schools , universities, colleges, and in one driveway was this old dog with  sweater on it. His owners must have thought it a cold day for an old dog and so dressed him for the weather. so cute.  not a chihuahua but very cute.

We found the Continuity of Life statue fountain that is advertised all over the place. Very pretty, leaping dolphins with a sea chariot carrying a man and woman, both of them naked as the day  and anatomically correct. We are so puritan in North America it is nice to see that there are places in the wold that are not, so puritan that is. Took a few Photos there. a nice pace for a sit down with a great view over the bay. 

Continued on down to the Divers plaza passing several statues of don’t know who but will look them up. 

There was a diver ready to go, we thought. He stood there and stood there. I kept filming him thinking that he was gong to go but he did not. Maybe he was waiting for a bigger crowd. Then we realized he was waiting for the real diver. Rojo was the Diver and when he got up there it did not take him long to position himself and dive into the water missing the rocks by maybe three or four feet it seemed. Quite impressive.After the dive a man came around to see if we wanted to donate to the diver but I waited for Rojo and asked him if the man was with him and he said yes and that he was going to be diving in Rio de janero the next Saturday and that they were broadcasting it on TSN. We wished him luck.

 We walked on passing the Diablos cave  where, during the Mexican revolution,  was there more than one?, they hid soldiers and guns. did you know that the Mexicans freed their slaves 25 years before the states did and that they integrated the slaves into their society unlike the states? very nice of them I think. they didn't have as many slaves as the states did to start with so maybe it was easier for them to do that. just saying.

We passed the lovely Woman of Mazatlan statue, again anotomically correct. We asked a couple of young men how much farther to Sixto Asuna and they said not far, maybe ten minutes and seemed quite pleased that they could help two old foreign ladies. I wonder if they took into account the walking speed of two old ladies to come up with that figure?

 A few more blocks and we passed some very interestingly painted buildings. One was a restaurant with John wayne, Clint Eastwood, Jonny Depp as tonTo and the new lone Ranger whose name I cannot remember but who I thought did a pretty good job in the movie..  not to sure who they were targeting with that. cowboys? 

Minutes  later we came to Deer square, a very lovely old part of Mazatlan with its own little beach and some young men trying to surf. The surf was not very big but they were having fun anyway.
There were a few older hotels and cafes including another looney bean cafe. They have such good coffee. diane was tempted but decided against it at this time.

We found our way across the street and discovered that we were on the sixto Asuna street with the museo archaeologic just around the corner and a few feet down the street and which was open and free. It was very interesting but small, no photos allowed inside and only a few things outside but very worthwhile if you are ever in Mazatlan. They need a rich patron to help them to get bigger and better and maybe with a little gift shop. Loads of information in both spanish and english.  Carved stones from the labradas, rather creepy funeral urns, weaving bobbins, urns, bowls, jewelry. Wish it was bigger. 

Right around the corner is the restaurant Macaws, actually a bed and breakfast-hotel-restaurant and gift/art shop which is very nice. We had lunch there before trying to go to the art gallery but it turned out it was closed on Sunday so we would have to come back. Great idea and next time we will come a different way and then we will be able to find our way around Mazatlan no problem.

We thought lets go to the beach again but wound up going on a rather round about tour of little known Mazatlan. I wanted to get to where the cruise ships come in thinking that there might be some more gift shops and postcards but we were thwarted in our efforts to get to the docks. No matter which road we took we ended up not going to the docks.

We went over busy roads and down quiet ones, we went up hills past very old buildings and they were right beside brightly coloured buildings. We passed flowers bright yellow, deep red hibiscus the size of dinner plates, little yellow bells soft blue, large small and in-between on the ground and in the trees and on bushes.

We passed cats and bus stops and ended up going over a large hill and we could see the docks and a rather interesting church spire(which I later learned was the church of Maria del Mar... Mary of the sea) but we could not find our way to the docks.
We did however, find our way to the road which would lead us to the light house.
At first Diane did not want to go to climb to the light house but with only a little cajoling I convinced her that if Wayne could do it we could most certainly do it. and it was a cloudy day and when are we going to be back this way again? 

So we went past the young couple getting their wedding photos taken on the beach, (the rest of the wedding party did not seem all that impressed with hanging out on the beach while the photographer  posed them and snapped merrily away).

We walked past the marinas with the sail boats and charter boats, the fishing boats and the little gecko hiding under the agave leaf.

Past the water treatment plant ( rather unpleasant odors there) and all the way to the light house hill where we thought about it and decided that if there were no bathrooms up there we could be in trouble so went back down the road to find a washroom before attempting our fantastic feat of climbing.

Back to the base of the hill and we climbed to the top.  The Path is nice and wide and not too steep mostly. About halfway up we met a nice kitty and the nice wide path turned into wide concrete stairs. 

At first they were numbered and we thought 'oh god I hope they are not all numbered' but they were not. There were some quotes on the odd step here and there which lost something in translation . (if your eyes are good then your body will be illuminated but if heart is pure if the rebels lips) and (spiritual path to enlightenment) which is pretty straight forward.

About halfway up the staircase there is an open section where there is no handrail or wall protecting one from falling to their death if they trip over the edge. Can you tell I have a fear of falling over edges? The sidewalk is of course very safe and wide but I still walked on the extreme inside around that corner till there was a railing again to give me that sense of security.  Such a wuse baby.

We did take a few moments to rest up before continuing up the path. Only took us about 40 minutes to climb all the way up from the bottom of the hill. There were lots of folks walking up and down, young and old, and lots of birds circling high overhead and in the trees or just flying past and black butterflies. There were lots of these lovely little black butterflies everywhere. so pretty. my friend Carol tells me It is Melanis cephise, called the "White-Rayed Pixie" or "White-Tipped Pixie" butterfly. How pretty. Google "Butterflies of Central Mexico" 

Lovely views from up there so we did sit for while to enjoy them and to catch our breath again. I turn red if I excersize at all so my face was very red when we got to the top and even when going down, which was much easier than going up, I was still red in the face with all my exertions. 
We decided to take a pulmonia home from there for 100 pesos as we could not walk anymore. Got home and had showers first thing. Then thought we would open a bottle of wine but I was too tired to even drink and just hit the sac right after supper.